ARTICLES ABOUT ROYAL BANK BY DATE - PAGE 3

MUMBAI: The Royal Bank Scotland (RBS) today lowered its forecast for the NSE Nifty to 9,200 points from 10,000 it pegged in December, citing delayed reforms on account of state elections later this year apart from weaker corporate earnings. "We are revising our earlier Nifty target from 10,000 to 9,200 by December because reforms are going slower than market expectations and the recent weaker-than-expected earnings," RBS Private Banking India chief investment officer Rajesh Cheruvu told reporters here.

LONDON: Royal Bank of Scotland said it had signed a referral agreement with BNP Paribas to support customers within its Global Transaction Services division. The state-backed lender said earlier this year that it would no longer offer transaction services to customers who need cash management and trade finance capabilities outside the UK and the Republic of Ireland. RBS, which is 78 percent-owned by the British government , is cutting its investment banking and international operations to focus on lending to British households and businesses.

MUMBAI: The Indian markets are likely to extend its winning streak as sentiment turns positive in global markets. According to technical analysts, the Nifty has potential to rally another 150 points once it manages to cross 8500 mark comfortably. Following are the stocks that will be in focus in trade today: Hero MotoCorp: The stock may zoom ahead in trade as it continued clock sales growth of 5-lakh plus units despite sluggish market sentiment and slowing rural economy Ashok Leyland: The company has registered a robust 41 per cent jump in commercial vehicles sales.

NEW DELHI: The Competition Commission of India (CCI) on Wednesday approved IndusInd Bank's acquisition of diamond and jewellery financing business of Royal Bank of Scotland ( RBS ) in India. "The combination is not likely to have any adverse effect on the market. The commission approves IndusInd Bank's acquisition of gem and jewellery portfolio of Royal Bank of Scotland," said a CCI order. While the exact size of the deal was not disclosed, the RBS' jewellery business has a loan book of Rs 4,500 crore and related deposits.

MUMBAI: Credit Suisse, the Swiss-headquartered financial institution, on Tuesday announced senior hires to expand its fixed income business in India. Rajiv Baruah from Macquarie Group was appointed head of fixed income (business) in India and Gaurav Pradhan , an ex-Deutsche banker, was named managing director and head of fixed income sales for Southeast Asia. "Baruah will be reporting to Mihir Doshi, chief executive officer for India, and Brian Yoon, head of fixed in come for Asia Pacific," Credit Suisse said in a statement.

By Michael Corkery & Ben Protess Adding another entry to Wall Street's growing rap sheet, five big banks have agreed to pay more than $5 billion and plead guilty to multiple crimes related to manipulating foreign currencies and interest rates, federal and state authorities announced on Wednesday. The Justice Department forced four of the banks -Citigroup, JPMorgan Chase , Barclays and the Royal Bank of Scotland -to plead guilty to antitrust violations in the foreign exchange market as part of a scheme that padded the banks' profits and enriched the traders who carried out the plot.

Here's one way of measuring how troubled Europe's economy is: Investors are betting Mario Draghi will complete his eight-year term as head of the European Central Bank in 2019 without ever raising interest rates. Money-market derivatives indicate the ECB won't increase its key rate from 0.05% till December 2019 — two months after Draghi's tenure is scheduled to end, according to Deutsche Bank economist Torsten Slok. By contrast, Draghi's predecessor, Jean-Claude Trichet, raised rates 11 times.

MUMBAI: IndusInd Bank on Friday said it will acquire Royal Bank of Scotland's Rs 4,500-crore diamond and jewellery financing business and related deposit portfolio in India. IndusInd has also entered into an agreement with Dutch bank ABN Amro NV to share skills on the diamond business as it looks to emerge a key player in this niche segment in the country. "At IndusInd, we have a diamond business portfolio that is aroundRs 1,500 crore; this acquisition is a right fit," said Romesh Sobti, managing director and chief executive at the private sector bank.

Indian corporate houses are not particularly known for promoting LGBT inclusivity. One exception is the House of Godrej. At a time when things have been going badly for India's LGBT community (in 2013, the Supreme Court overturned the Delhi High Court judgment decriminalising homosexuality), the Godrej group has stepped forward to pro-actively lend support, changing its HR policies, sponsoring Kashish, an LGBT film festival and most recently, last month, hosting a national conference by MINGLE ( Mission for Indian Gay and Lesbian Empowerment )

NEW YORK: A rule designed to reduce risk in the financial system could end up punishing the wrong banks. That's what analysts, economists and some banks say will happen if regulators adopt guidelines proposed last year by the Financial Stability Board, which coordinates banking policy for the biggest economies. The rule, which would require banks to hold a minimum level of long-term debt that can be converted to equity if they fail, benefits lenders with big securities-trading businesses, the kind that led to the 2008 credit crisis.